241 Copyright © 2019, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. Chapter 13 DOI: 10.4018/978-1-5225-8939-6.ch013 ABSTRACT A redirection towards wellbeing with a view to produce lasting social and economic vitality for the global civilization necessitates moving from conventional economic methods towards innovative solu- tions, which are necessary to face challenges of today and the future to foster sustainable growth. Social innovation and its agents can be considered as a toolbox which may facilitate a transition by positively infuencing wellbeing, developing ways of integrating it into policy, and promoting it as an alternative measure of progress. Social innovation may increase the role of civil society in solving social problems, while sustaining and improving people’s wellbeing beyond increasing their welfare in monetary term. By providing up-to-date solutions to challenges ranging from global warming to fair income distribu- tion, and from social innovative entrepreneurs to grass-rooted innovation, social innovation seems to be capable of transforming the society in a way to tackle with a new kind of societal problems, and of exploring new ways to create added value for the economy. Going Beyond GDP: The Role of Social Innovation in Building a Welfare State Seyithan Ahmet Ates Ankara University of Social Sciences, Turkey Muradiye Ateş Konya Necmettin Erbakan University, Turkey Murat Ali Yülek Istanbul Commerce University, Turkey